Still Sofia

CHRISTMAS FAMILY MINI SESSIONS TIME

2011-12-14T17:18:00.000-08:00

... if you are feeling like it's a little "late", no worries, I will have you pictures back to you in 2 days. This should give you enough time to do something for Christmas or the New Years. I have just a few openings left this weekend. Give me a call, let's see what we can do....

Miss Katie Mae gets married

2011-09-08T22:33:00.000-07:00

It wasn't long ago when Katie came to visit us with her friend Nathan. She assured me they were just friends. As life has it and time passes, she fell in love with her friend Nathan and they were married. I was so blessed to have been able to capture their celebration of their found love. Katie began the day with a lot to do but was surprisingly calm the entire time. She was amazing! Since Dad is a minister, she wanted him to preform the wedding. With one look at his girl Daddy had to give her a kiss, let her know he loved her and how amazing she looked! Katie and her Mom were able to share a special moment right before walking in. Every detail fell into place and at just the right moment. Her head piece was a spectacular display of white feathers, a flower and veil that accented her dress which fit like a hand tailored work of art! Auntie Jessica got the flower girls ready and boy did they look cute. They enjoyed every minute of the day and were thrilled their Daddy was marring Katie! Her two walked her down they aisle. When her brother Joel saw her for the first time, his eyes lit up and he said,"WOW! You look beautiful!" The ceremony went was extra special, her Dad teared up a bit but finished the ceremony with a blessing over their marriage. As they were rushing down the aisle, I asked them to slow down a bit and on que, both busted a pose.... too funny! The weather was perfect and we took full advantage of it. Katie is a culinary genius and made the yummiest red velvet cupcakes. I confess, I did have more than one. Katie and Nathan are so in love. I pray they will always honor and value what they have.{ I am sure that it is user error, but, I did not resize my pictures and am a little disappointed that they are coming up in so many different sizes, going to try to correct this later}

Raquel and William. just too cute.

2011-03-30T18:18:00.000-07:00

Raquel looks at William with so much love and respect in her eyes.... and he just adores her. Finding that out within the few minutes of meeting them just made for a wonderful engagement session. They are a darling couple and I wish them the best as they start their future lives together.
May their lives be filled with
Sweet Blessings!!!

feelin the love

R. so beautiful

nothings better then holing hands with your sweetie...ok, well almost nothing

The Big J

2011-03-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

....is going to graduate in a few months and I was thrilled to be able to take his senior pictures. He recently went through the most physically trying time.... it was not looking good there for a couple of months but thank God he is doing so much better!!! He has become a wonderful young man, ready to step out on his own and see what life has in-stored for him. May God always bless J in his future adventures.

Caraangs.... trusting God

2011-02-22T13:21:00.000-08:00

Recently, the Caraang's son finished the last of his chemo and radiation therapy. He was brave and at the same time, showed that he totally trusted God. There were times when Connie or Steve would share praises about Justin and their hearts were overflowing with joy to see what God had been doing and how He was at work in all their lives. Their requests would often bring us all to tears. It was evident though, they were in totally dependence upon God during this time. Cancer did not shake their faith in God.

Meet the Caraangs

Steve and Connie

Lynnette she is a beautiful young woman, she loves her family and always has a smile to greet you with. This was her journey as well and she is forever changed because of it.

I feel in love with Mia. She is huge but sweet as sweet can be!

The family

girls only

Justin, Lynnette and Mia

Justin and his Dad

I love you Mom

Sweet as Sweet can be

2011-01-16T19:07:00.000-08:00

Annette decided to have her family session in home, relaxed and with everyone in their jammies. I heart jammies!!!

Their family is so much fun! One of the boys had a toy in his hand, you know, the ones that come in the child's meals from the fast food haunts. It made the same noise over and over and over again, the boys just loved it...which in turned made us all laugh.

Three boys under the age of four is a handful but Javier and Annette still manage to stay connected. I loved how this picture represents that sometimes life is crazy, busy and demanding but through it all, we still have to keep our prespective on what's most important.

I brought each of the boys a huge lolli pop. They were thrilled... CANDY!

I heart their piggies! It doesn't take long for these little childrens size fives to become a 10 1/2 mens.

J his eyes get me every time I see this picture

M so serious

X
I broke his lolli early on in the session, ugh!!! Mama gave him a piece of the broken one and he was happy. I thought it would be better to have his picture with an entire lolli pop rather than the broken piece he had been sucking on all session. He did not like this idea at all and began to cry...so we gave him back his broken piece. As you can see, he still has tears in his eyes but still so cute.

Sweets

It was raining that day, the boys just stared out the window for the longest time. This is my favorite picture of the session

May Javier and Annette continue to keep each other's needs a priority. May they stay strong as they raise these beautiful boys. Most of all, may God always bless their sweet family!

And now theres four

2011-01-05T13:28:00.000-08:00

How lucky am I to have had four sessions with this sweet family! It was raining pretty hard that day, so instead of rescheduling we had a cozy and relaxed session inside. I am so glad we did. We had a great time enjoying the kiddos in their beautiful and toasty home.

Their family has grown with an adorable little addition. Mama had the cutest hair bows for her too...a woman after my own heart! I LOVE hair bows {our Sara used to call them "hay bows" <3 }

We started our session with the Baby Girl first when immediately Big Brother needed his cameras. He followed me while I was taking his sister's pictures. His parents say that he loves the cameras. Who knows, they may their own family photographer here really soon.

Sweet blessings to this family in 2011

JOY TO THE WORLD

2010-12-29T14:33:00.000-08:00

the Lord has come!

What a wonderful Truth. He came to give us Life... His life.
The ultimate gift of love and what an amazing gift to us all.
His love overwhelms me and at times I am left in awe.

This year has brought about some changes,
some good,
some I was uncertain of,
some that brought me to my knees,
some that made me dance with joy,
some that I worried about...
in the end they were all blessings of His goodness and love.
It took me a little time before Father could show me this for some of them though

One of the first changes was when our Jordan married his sweetheart, Karen. They had a beautiful wedding filled with tons of love, laughter, dancing and fun! What a blessing to know that they both love the Lord and choose to follow Him in their marriage. My brother Gabriel and Katie Ekno helped me take pictures while Amy did all the editing. Another change which occurred was our Luke went away to Wisconsin for college. This was HUGE and yet Father was there the entire time! The next change that followed when their Grandbaby, Genevieve was born. Many more changes have occured, all of which have made our time together as a family even more precious. I am so thankful that we are all able to share 2 weeks together, remembering why we celebrate Christmas.

We had other family visit during the Christmas season... that blog will follow in a few days

Christmas Picture of our blesssings

Santa and his little Elf helper were here today

Luke dressed up like Santa, so Joshie had to dress up as well....

Cozy and comfty fashion is what I ask the family to wear for Christmas Day :-) I love Joshie's little face that he is making in this picture.

Our first Christmas with our daughter Karen and G.Babes...this was our best Christmas to date! Papa Nile even got in on this picture :-)

The Lorenzana Family

2010-11-23T20:36:00.001-08:00

What a sweet family!!! Can a photo session be too much fun?! After this one, I think so. The boys told me all about their favorite things,
toys,
games,
stories,
treasures,
Bionicles... which I absolutely loved hearing about.

I put my foot in my mouth, of course, but it made us all laugh so I guess it was ok.
My good friend Amy told me these are the best kind of sessions though... I would have to agree!

I had to ask the boys what they were talking about that made the younger brother light up and this is what they said,
"Dad is going to mess up our plaaaaaaaaaaaan!!"
I ask, "What is your plan?"
They said, "We asked Mom if we were good could we go to Target to get some more Bionicles and she said we'll see....but Dad says we have too many Bioniclllllllllles. Dad is going to mess up our plans!"
I ask, "Sooooooooo??? You are hoping after this,your parents will take you to Target for some more Bionicles?"
Their eyes light up and in harmony they say,"Yeessss!!!"

How cute are they?! I pray they will stay sweet and young for a very long time. May God always bless this family!

The G. Babes

2010-10-29T00:52:00.000-07:00

Only the cutest, sweetest and smooshie mooshiest baby girl ever! She stole my heart the moment I saw her, not just mine but all her family. She has come into a world full of hugs,kissies and love. More than anything, may she grow up knowing her Heavenly Father, His love and grace.

How do I put into words the feelings that have overflowed in my heart...?
I can hardly speak of it without crying.
The absolute understanding, awareness that there truly is God and He has just poured out THE BIGGEST blessing into all our lives in the form of a new life, it is just overwhelming

A month ago our first Grandchild was born.
She has a full head of dark hair,
Ji-normous eyes,
The most perfect little nose,
Loooooong fingers and toe-ies for kissing
{I just love little feet!}.

We {offically, Grandpa Turtle, myself...aka YahYah, Uncle Josh and Auntie Hannah} were in the waiting room almost literally, right outside the delivery room when we received the text "Es un niña". We started cheering/yelling, "IT'S A GIRL, IT'S A GIRL...oh God, thank You! It's a girl, a baby girl!!!!!" Hugging, while crying we all thanked God for the arrival of our little G.babes.

Apparently,
we were so loud that a nurse from the delivery room came out to tell us we needed to keep it down.... aaaaaaaaaahahha, of course!
We had an explotion with joy, tears and praise, I can understand how that was probably too loud for the hospital waiting room but so much joy, who can keep it in?!

To be honest, I have to say, I am not really that good with change.
I wasn't ready when Jordan said he was getting married.
I wasn't ready when they told us they were having a baby.
I wasn't ready when our Lukie left for college,
in WISCONSIN(but that's a entirely different blog which I will eventually write when I can get through it without having Sob Fest 2010)

but,

the moment I met her,
I was more than ready,
ready for the shift in being Mom
to the role of being her Grandma.
I loved her from the moment I found out she was coming.
I prayed for her all the time and still do...

I am sure I will flood my blog with a plether of pictures but for now,
here are a few pics of her very first photo session.

She is so alert!

Smiling at 10 days old... she is amazing

I know this is terrible, but there is something about this picture that I love!

Jordan couldn't watch her cry without giving her kisses

...and there it is. Her Daddy gets her to stop crying.

I just love her little tootsies

Sweet Blessings to you and yours!

Still,
Sofia

JOSH & JENNY

2010-10-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

A month ago I was able to take engagement pictures of Josh and Jenny. They are such a sweet couple. He is hilarious, out of the box and hypie. Not only does she laugh at his jokes but she plays along with them, in her calm sort of way, only making what he said even funnier. They compliment each very well. Some of his friends told him the sign he made for the wedding date numbers are wrong. She said, "They were perfectly fine and they both knew exactly when they were getting married." {I loved hearing her sweet confirmation of his hard work}

While I was taking pictures of them Josh did something very meaningful. He probably doesn't even remember because it is such a natural thing but non-the-less, it melts the heart. We were walking and he put his hand on the small of Jenny's back. The place on our bodies which is reserved only for our special someone. So much is said when one puts there hand there,"She laughs at my jokes, he is the funniest guy in the world, I am so into her, he is amazing, she chose me, I choose him."
Jenny waited for Josh as did he for her. They are both a little older. I know they feel it has been worth the wait.
And now,
when they walk,
and don't even realize it,
their hand will have a special place,
reserved only for the other.

I pray she will always laugh at his jokes and that he will continue to do those meaningful gestures that are only shared between a hubby and a wifie. God bless you both as you begin a wonderful journey together!!!

She is just too cute

He told her to trust him, lean back and she did

Had to finsh with this picture of Josh and Jenny. See what I mean about her playing along with him?! They are going to have so much fun through out the years.

Jordan and Karen

2010-09-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

It wasn't long ago that our Jordan came to us, letting us know that he was in love and wanted to get married...
I often am amazed when I think of the past 22 years we have had with him. It has gone by so fast,
I know... everyone says that, but it's true.
It makes me wonder if we taught him all he needs to know
to be a Godly man,
to love his wife above himself,
to be a hard worker,
to lead his family,
to know how to fix things,
to be fair, kind, loving, honest, caring....

I am certain that we have not...
he is still growing into the man God wants him to be.
We are blessed to still be here to guide and encourage him.
He is not done, then again, who really is?

I don't know if Karen knows this, but I secretly {not a secret anymore} watch her response to Jordan. She is so in love. I catch her staring at him with those eyes...
you know those eyes that just adore the person they are in love with.
She has all these cute names for him.
She laughs when he is not funny.
She watches out for him.
She takes extra good care of him.
She loves God and is so excited to be the new Mrs.V.

They are both so into each other.

I took wedding picture with my bother and Katie Ekno. Amy did all the editing... she is so talented! Click on Amy's name and the link should connect you to the pictures... sweetness!!!

Fast forward and they are now ready to be have a baby,
yes.... a baby!!!

Any day now, the little one should be here. They both decided to not find out what they were having, so we are all filled with anticipation as we await him...her to show up. Little Baby V is taking his/her time. As of now, the baby is 5 days late. They went to the Dr.'s and they said it should be any time now, but not going to rush the event"

So happy for our kids...
soon to be parents...
their lives will never be the same...
Our prayer is that they will enjoy the journey...

Always and Forever,
your Mom

Tres

2010-09-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

It seems like forever ago, Lluvy was a in high school. She was always so sweet. She was spunkie and full of life.

Fast forward about 10 years and she is now a Mommy.

She wanted to have a session with the newest member of her family, baby Tres. She came with Tia Estrella and Asher. Little Tres was not feeling good that day. We all tried to make him happy, Lluvy fed him a couple of times, she changed his diapie, burped him, swaddled him.... nothing.

I even got to hold him for quite sometime...
He fell asleep but when I put him down, he woke up and was fussy again.

It wasn't till the last 15 minutes that he was finally feeling better. That is when I took most of these pictures. He is such a beautiful little man. I just love his blue eyes and long fingers.

I enjoyed every minute that they were here. Catching up, laughing, reminiscing...It was so good spending time with them.
I loved meeting Lluvy's boys, Asher is a doll.

Life changes, while time flies...
but it is good to know bonds which were made years ago continue on in through the furture.

When the session was done, I was a little sad knowing I wouldn't see them all again for a while but feeling sooooo blessed that we had the opportunity to reconnect.

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The Little Little

2010-09-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

I can not believe that Marciano is over 6 months old now but he is....

His mama Grace asked to have this session with him and I have to admit from the get go, I was so excited!!! Yet, I never imagined a session could be so much fun!!! Ken and Grace are very chill, relaxed and easy going kind of people. Marciano had just woken up from his car nap and was not sure of what was going on or where he was. He made sure he had his Mama and Daddy insight...

It all changed when Grandma and Grandpa showed up.
Ooooooooh my gooooodness!!!!
His Grammy became my assistant.
She called his name,
got him to laugh,
tried to set up a shot (it didn't work, but she tried),
she shook her keys by my head,
whistled at him.... yes, whistled.....aaaaaaaahaahaha.

It was sooooo much fun,
SO much fun!!

We all laughed and cheered as little Marciano did his army man crawl. He would lift up to the crawling position then throw himself forward like a little crazy man. Then he would do the army man and back to the crazy man crawling. When he finally got a rhythm to the crawling we were cheering and laughing all the while I'm taking pictures (and some video clips).

Children bring so much joy into their families lives,
every now and again,
I get to be a part of the joy...

DreaDrea

2010-06-30T11:52:00.001-07:00

Sweet Aundrea needed some head shots to use for her portfolio. She is an amazing, up and coming vocalist. While she is studying and perfecting her vocal skills, she wants try out for some bigger productions. She is as ambitious as she is beautiful. It was such an honor for me to take her headshoots and I am filled with anticipation to see where she goes from her.

Drea, it is your time to fly... so spread your wings and soar!

Iris and Edwin

2010-06-25T19:08:00.001-07:00

What a sweet day!!! Never was there a bride more calm and more relaxed than Iris! Ok, maybe, but not one that I have met. I was getting a little worried as it was time for her to come and she was a few minutes late....
but then this prestine 1967 {ish} Silver Chevy Impala pulls up with Iris in it. She was ready and beaming from head to toe. I even had to ask her to stop and wait because she was heading start for the aisle!
You could see the love Edwin has for Iris as we walked down the aisle, he saw her and smiled when he was his beautiful bride!

May their lives be blessed as their journey together has just begun

Seniors 2010

2010-06-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

SENIORS 2010

2010-06-07T17:54:00.000-07:00

I got to take some senior pictures for the class of 2010. Our son Luke will graduate this year. We have two children who have graduated before him, but still, it is amazing to me to think of him out of high school and in college. Has the time really gone by this fast?! I pray that the class of 2010 will know they have an amazing future waiting for them all. I also pray they will all come to know the love of God, it makes all the difference.

Here are a few pictures of the seniors.

BABY GIRL IS THREE

2010-05-02T22:55:00.001-07:00

It can't be....
three years have passed since you were born?!!!
It just can't be!!!

It was just too fast...
You have grown to be a beautiful little toddler,
inside and out.

You are the Little Spoofi
Daddy's girl
Nani's sunshine
Papa's reading buddy
Mommy's partner in crime
and very soon...

The Big Sissy to
the New Scooby Do

.JULIAN.

2010-04-25T21:58:00.001-07:00

Oh,
how I love sessions with babies. Julian is just the sweetest little man. He was a perfect baby to have a session with. He was fed and good to go.

Squishy baby
Yummy toes
Big hands
Long fingers
Piercing eyes

HE IS SOOOO CUTE!!!!

Words can not express how happy I am for Danny and Angela to have stepped into parenthood. I love that God says children are an heritance from Him... truly they have been blessed with a precious treasure! May God always bless his life. May he know, that no matter where he is, he has a people all over this world that care and love him. I'm excited to see what his future holds.

Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson!

2010-04-19T22:31:00.001-07:00

I was thrilled to be doing this session. The Robinsons are the sweetest people you will ever meet!
As I started to take pictures, the youngest was shy and timid. Although it cames across beautifully in pictures, I really wanted her to enjoy the session. The picture of them sitting on the sidewalk was when all the fun started. I laid down to get the right angle, after a few shots, all of their eyes got HUGE...
and then it happened,
the moment that I was waiting for,
they started cracking up.
I kept shooting,
which made them laugh more. Then it hit me and I said, "There are people right behind me, huh, trying to walk up the sidewalk, huh?!"
They couldn't talk,
just laughter and giggles
and confirmation that I was right.
All the shyness was gone and the fun had begun!

May the road rise up to meet them...May they always love each other as much as they do today.

So, here's to you Mrs. Robinson, Jesus loves you more than I can say....

Valles

2010-01-18T10:36:00.000-08:00

I have been blessed to have know Dainel and his family for sometime now. He went to school with one of our sons. The kids stayed the night at one another's home. Years ago, Daniel went away to college. He graduated, found love and was married there. He and his beautiful wife, Angela came back to SF to start their lives together. They are now expecting their first child to be born in a few months....
These are the normal stages of life but I must say, he has done it well and it has been an honor to watch Daniel become a man,
a husband
and very soon a Daddy.

As life passes, and days become years, may they follow Truth, and enjoy the journey that God has before them.

Riveras

2009-12-09T10:28:00.000-08:00

Sometimes unexpected blessings are found when things do not go the way we had plan. Originally, I was suppose to take the Rivera's family picture at their little man's first birthday party. He is born right around Halloween, you can just imagine all the possibilities for birthday parties he will have in his lifetime. Dad, being a good Dad, got caught up in the festivities. He had forgotten that we were going to do family photos after the party and went and got his face painted, which I have to say came out amazing! The only thing is, it is very difficult to have your family picture taken when your face looks like a WWF wrestler.

Later, we agreed to meet at a local park to take their family picture, this time, only Mom would be sporting the makeup. When I saw what they were wearing, I knew the pictures were going to be perfect.

I was so happy to meet up with them the next month....
someone started walking....
he is so big now!!!

In the end, Dad getting his face painted was the best thing that happened!!! I love, love, love how these pictures turned out and I was blessed to be able to see the little man on the go, go.

Merry Christmas

Familia

2009-12-09T09:15:00.001-08:00

I am blessed to have a sister. We are close in age, strength, personality and character. When we were young, we fought like crazy little monkeys. Always picking at each other, anything could start a fight. As much as we fought, we loved even more. She has always had my back, has known my heart and held my hand when I needed it. Sometimes we laugh so hard we cry. Our children will see us and ask why we are crying, to which we respond, "We are not crying, we are laughing". Baffled they just walk away. I am sure they are saying to themselves, "Our Mom's are crazy!!!" And, well, we are.

My sister has a beautiful family. Her husband loves and adores her. Her son is as handsome as his Dad. He is the younger version of his Father to the tee. The Baby Girl is just getting to be the age where they cross over and are no long a child....

May the children grow up to be even better people than their parents are. May they know God always loves them. May my sister and her husband be blessed with a life filled with many more beautiful moments in time... these are just a few of the pictures that I was able to freeze in time.

Seniors 2010

2009-10-03T23:08:00.000-07:00

She's ONE!!!!

2009-07-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

Hooray for Mackinze, she turns one this month. What a sweet little baby. I can't believe how fast the time has passed. She is a the bottom of this blog with her Daddy giving her a kissie XOXOX.
We went to the Golden Gate Children's Park and enjoyed the weather. It was more like a play date than a session.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!!!!

Young Love

2009-06-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

Young love always makes my heart take wings and fly. It stirs beautiful memories and brings hope to the future. I have called Lisa, "Peanut", as a sweet & tender nickname....in turn she would called me Mom. I was blessed to meet her when she was in 8th grade and have been able to watch her grown up to become a beautiful woman, from the inside out

Through thick and thin she has been a joy to my soul and now she is a grown & lovely woman. Married and establishing a home of her own.

After all the pictures were done, I was able to pray a blessing upon them. May they always love each other. Seeking Truth in all they do, I pray that God will bless their future together!!!!
Always and Forever,
Still{your}Sofia

Lisa on her wedding day.

A Little Diva Turns Two

2009-05-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

WOW....2 years old. She is such a doll baby! You all will probably get sick of hearing me say how much fun it was to have a photo session with all my clients, but I swear, it really is fun!!! You can see for the captured photos, she was lovin it. Sometimes my subjects will be moving so much it is hard to get a good stationary posed picture of them....I don't always want that though, I love the movement, ok call it blurriness but to me it shows life. Sometimes this IS how life is with a little one, moving fast, a little blurry but so much JOY. She is a precious little girl, blessed with a wonderful family.

To my readers and 3 followers :-) may you enjoy each second of your day, capture every special moment even if you don't have your camera with you.

Sweet blessings

FYI~a major shout out to the Queen Bee of all photo editing, the woman who inspired and encouraged me into taking this huge step, the one, the only... Miss Amy at
http://2ndstorywindow7.blogspot.com/ Take a lookie at her work....SoCal Peeps, she is only a phone call away

Sweet families

2009-05-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

I love the fact that I have the privilege to be capturing moments of love shared between a family. The pictures live on for years, forever caught in time. This is just too much fun!

{ My Work }

2009-01-06T13:26:00.000-08:00

{YOGA}